Snow forecast as temperatures plummet

Britain is set for more bitterly cold conditions ahead of a spell of snow this weekend.

Chesham in Buckinghamshire recorded a temperature of -11C at 5am on Friday, and forecasters expect a maximum of 2C across the UK during the day. Dartmoor, pictured right, has also been covered with snow.

It comes after the Met Office raised fears for the elderly and ill by issuing its first countrywide level three cold weather alert of the winter.

The alert, which is the second most serious, is tied in to the government’s cold weather plan, according to which warnings are relayed to organisations such as Age UK, which help the elderly through winter.

This winter, town halls stockpiled about 1.4 million tonnes of salt in preparation for bad weather, and invested in new fleets of GPS-tracked gritting trucks and snow ploughs.

Councillor Peter Box, chairman of the LGA’s Economy and Transport Board said that councils are receiving regular updates from weather experts and have extra services on standby.

He said that communities should work together to look after vulnerable neighbours and called for a “public-spiritedness and a common sense approach”.

“Council staff will be delivering hot meals, blankets, collecting prescriptions, delivering portable heaters…and arranging basic checks on residents they know are vulnerable to make sure they’re ok,” he said. “But they can’t be everywhere and they rely on community-minded residents to look out for each other.”

Postmen, milkmen and paperboys can be “life-savers”, he added.

Snow forecast

Meanwhile, severe weather warnings are in place until Sunday, with icy conditions expected in parts of the England today and snow forecast in Wales, south west Scotland and much of England tomorrow.

The only higher alert than that currently issued is level four, which sees normally healthy people at risk from the cold.

The AA said it was 80 per cent busier than normal and yesterday expected to attend more than 17,000 breakdowns as the cold caused a surge in flat batteries.

Frozen Europe in pictures 

Councillor Peter Box, chairman of the LGA’s Economy and Transport Board said that councils are receiving regular updates from weather experts and have extra services on standby.

He said that communities should work together to look after vulnerable neighbours and called for a “public-spiritedness and a common sense approach”.

“Council staff will be delivering hot meals, blankets, collecting prescriptions, delivering portable heaters…and arranging basic checks on residents they know are vulnerable to make sure they’re ok,” he said. “But they can’t be everywhere and they rely on community-minded residents to look out for each other.”

Postmen, milkmen and paperboys can be “life-savers”, he added.

Snow forecast

Meanwhile, severe weather warnings are in place until Sunday, with icy conditions expected in parts of the England today and snow forecast in Wales, south west Scotland and much of England tomorrow.

The only higher alert than that currently issued is level four, which sees normally healthy people at risk from the cold.

The AA said it was 80 per cent busier than normal and yesterday expected to attend more than 17,000 breakdowns as the cold caused a surge in flat batteries.

Frozen Europe in pictures 

Picture sent in by Martin Paul Hume from Cromer, Norfolk

Europe

On the continent, popular travel destinations have been badly affected by the dismal temperatures and conditions: -14C in Berlin, -17C in Prague, -8C in Paris, -13C in Stockholm and -20C in Warsaw.

At least 140 people have died in eastern Europe following the arrival of the Siberian cold front, and many people have been forced to extreme measures in an attempt to keep warm.

Ukraine has been worst hit, experiencing overnight temperatures as low as -33C – the coldest winter in six years. The Kiev Post reports that 101 people have died because of the cold, with 38 of those coming in the last 24 hours.

The country’s emergencies ministry said that 64 people were found dead on the streets, 26 in their homes, and 11 while receiving medical care. Most of the victims are thought to have been homeless.

Russian cold snap

At least 28 people have frozen to death since 1 November in Moscow and 128 people have been take to hospital with hypothermia and frostbite, according to the Interfax agency. Again, most of those who died were homeless.

Temperatures in Moscow have been as low as -24C, according to Russia’s Meteo agency, with temperatures dropping to an extraordinary -50C in the far eastern Magadan region, home to about 150,000 citizens.

Six people died in Serbia and one person is missing because of the extreme weather, police said. One of the dead was a 50 year-old woman whose body was uncovered by a snowplough clearing the road near her home in Kursumlija, 292km (181 miles) south of Belgrade. Six people have also died because of the cold in the Czech Republic.